It is reported today that visitor arrivals last month took a dip after the big earthquake on October 15.
"It appears that the Oct. 15 earthquakes in Hawaii shook up visitor traffic for the month, according to state figures released yesterday. Total arrivals dropped to 569,473 last month, down 4.2 percent compared with October 2005, while visitor days declined 5 percent and spending slipped 0.4 percent, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said in its monthly report."
I am quite certain that news from the quake certainly made visitors change their mind about coming to Honolulu. The rock group Blue October used the quake as an excuse to cancel a concert in Honolulu only days before it was scheduled to happen.
News reports flew around the world about the October 15 earthquake. People on the mainland knew more about the quake from sketchy TV reports and internet news feeds. Most Hawaii residents could not get TV news and internet due to the all day power outages.
My brother told me that the October 15 earthquake, from his vantage point in Las Vegas was like following the events of 9-11. He spent all day watching the TV news and getting reports off the net.
It remains to be seen if the earthquake and tremors since then will have a long term impact on tourism.
Photo caption: Tourists at Waikiki Beach.
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